Spiral-runway construction



June 10, 1924. 1,497,301 F. PARDEE Y SP IRAL RUNWAY CONSTRUCTION Fild Oct. 28. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FRHNK FHRD E June 10 i924. I

- F. PARDEE SPIRAL RUN-WAY CONSTRUCTION 2 Shets-$heet 2 Filed Oct. 28 1921 auomiioz FR/INK 194E055 Patented June 10, 1924.

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FRANK PAR/DEE OF HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ANTHBACITE SEPARATOB COMFANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

SPIRAL-RUNWAY CONSTRUCTION.

To all whom if; may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK PARDEE, a citlzen of the United States, and resident of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, have invented cerin a higher horizontal plane than that part of the surface which is near the axis of the spiral runway. Heretofore spiral runways of this class have been formed of a multiplicity of segmental plates or ackets having radial edges, the inner portions of said jackets being cut away to lit a central. post by which the jackets are usually supported.

Plates having radial edges and inner cut away portions are more difficult to form and necessitate the expenditure of more labor and the waste of more material than plates or jackets constructed according to the present invention. 1

.One object of the present invention is to provide a spiral runway made of a number of jacket sections which are adapted to engage the supporting post tangentially.

further object is to provide a spiral structure comprising. a number of jacket sections which neednot be cutaway to fit the central supporting post. A further object is toprovide a jacket which can be produced at less expense than those heretofore proposed, but will serve its function equal- 1y as Well. A further object is to provide a jacket which can be more readily and more truly warped or bent'tocont'orm to a true spiral surface than possible in structures heretofore used. Other objects willbe apparent as the description proceeds.

The. spiral runway herein described is particularly adapted for use .on coal separators and the like butis notlimited'to such use as the following description will show that aspiral runway constructed according:

to the present invention can readily be adapted to many other uses.-

Application filed October28, 1921.

Serial No. 511,210.

The invention will be understood by ref-. erence to the accompanying drawings in which H p Fig. l is a side elevation showing threequarters of a turn of a spiral' runway constructed according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a topplan showing one complete turn of the runway; .7

Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the jackets of the runway;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of a. runway. composed of a number of platesassembled in reverse position from that in which the plates are assembled in the structure showninFig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the position in which the jackets of Fig. 4 are turned before they are assembled;

Fig. 6 is a partial plan showing the tangential edges of the jackets of the runway closely fitting the sides of a central polygonal supporting post;

Fig. 7 is a detail of a jacket which is corrugated to form a friction surface. a

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 8, the spiral runway comprises a multiplicity of component jackets 1 which are identical in shape and overlap one another along their adjacent edges. Each jacket 1 comprises a plate which is warped to correspond to a spiral surface and is .tormed with straight converging edges 2 and. 3 and an outer edge 4 which may be curved as shown to conform substantially in plan view to a circle concen-- tric with the axis of the central supporting post 5. Or if desired the outer edge 4 could be straight so as to form a runway having a polygonal periphery. The central post 5 carries a series of outwardly and upwardly extending rods 6 which are adapted to form supports for the several jackets 1. The edge 2 of each acket is substantially tangentto the periphery of the post 5 and the edge 3 extends outwardly at an acute angle therefrom,

the two edges intersecting at the apex .7

which is located a slight distance beyond the tangent point of contact of the edgei2 and the post, so that the interstices betweenthe I separate coal from slate and areialso adapted'to exert'a'n edge friction on jacket near the apex so as to form a short flange 8 which may be on a radius equal to that of the supporting post so that the jacket will snugly fit the post at such location. Or the post'may be flattened at the points where the edges 2 contact with it. Or, as shown in Fig. 6 the post may be of polygonal formation having. flat surfaces against which the tangential edges 2 of the jackets will snugly fit.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the jackets are assembled so that the lower edge 3 extends beyond the upper edge 2 of the adjacent jacket forming amarginal overlap 9, best shown in Fig. 1. It willbe'seen that as thus constructed the material in flowing down the runway from one acket to another falls a distance equal to th'e thickness of one of the plates.- As indicated"byi the arrow in Figs. 1 and 2, the materialflows clockwise, and the lower edge 3 is above the adjacent edge 2, so it is clear that the overlapping edges as thus assembled do not ofier any resistanceto the movement of the material travelingthereon. In these figures'the jackets are so assembled that the tangential edges 2'extend from a J point at the periphery of the runway and downwardly'to a point tangent with the surface of the supporting post.- In other words,'considering'atop'plan view as in Fig. 2 the edges 2 are tangent and extend in a counterclockwise direction from the circular surface of the central post'5. On the other hand, in Fig. l the plates are assembled in reverse position'to that shown in Fig. 2 so that their tangential edges 2 extend in clock-wise direction from the circular surface of the cen tral post '5. This arrangement, therefore presents a marginal overlap 9 which is inclined in theopposite direction from that shown in Fig.2. To express it in another way, the seam between the two adjacent jackets in Fig: 2 formed by the overlapping edgesextends upwardly and outwardly from the central post in counter-clockwise direction whereas" in'the arrangement of Fig. 4 the two' jacket's extend upwardlyand outwardly in a clockwise direction. When these spiral runways are used in spiral'separators for-coal and like 'materialseach arrangement has advantages for treating a particular' classof material.

The runways constructed according to this invention may be used as simple conveyorsor they may be effectively usedias separator= threads in spiral'runway's adaptedto other impur itiesbFigfz shows a jacket 1? provided with a seriesof closely spaced ridges10, adapted to jointly{'siipportthe lumps of material which travel overthe runw y- These ridges the"mateni al and to control its direction of trav'elz They maybe of various formation toradapt them' for producing the desired effects on different classes of coal as disclosed in another application Serial Number 507,109 filed Oct. 11, 1921.

One advantage of forming the jackets with tangential edges as" above described is that it permits the use of simple plates which need not be cut away at the inner portion to fit the supporting. post. It will be appreciated that this'saves considerable time and therefore expense in the formation of these jackets.

Those skilled in the art are aware that it is quite troublesome to cut away the inner portion of the segment or jacket so that a curve is produced -which an interse'tion of the cylindrical part of the post and the warped spiral surface of the jacket. In other words in prior constructions in which the jackets were formed with edgesradiatingfronithe axis of the central post, it was necessary to plot a curve on the inner por tion of the jacket which in vertical projection would be a. circle, yet one end thereof would be higher than the other. This curve of 'course is not a true circle but is a portion of a sine curve or helix. Vith a post of comparatively small diameter it is quite difii'cult to plot these curves or make dies for'cutting such curves, to produce a plate which will neatly fit the post at the center. lVith the improved form of jacket shown herein, the cutting away of this central portion of the jacket is entirely eliminated as the edge 2 thereof extends tangentially out wardly from the surface of the supporting post. It, therefore, only requires two cuts to form a jacket of the improved design. The edge, 3 being the original edge of the stock from which the acket' is made and the edges 2 and 4 being the only ones that are necessarily cut. The use of'the flangedpor tion 8 is optional and is not absolutely mess: sary as it'is apparent from the drawings thatinthe case of a cylindrical post the in tersti'ces of. two adjacent jackets is so small that they may be neglectedand in the case-- of" a polygonal post, Fig 7, the adjacent jackets lit the post perfectly and do not leave any intervening spaces Jackets of'the shape shown aremore easily assembled and 1' permit'the formation ofa much truer spiral or helical. curve than that obtainable in jackets having truly radial .vedges.v This is particularly true on the inner surface of the runway near thecentral postl Runways made up of jackets constructed as herein described convey the material more un iformly and smoothly and. with less agitation than possible with prior constructions.

The tangentially ovenlappingied'ges of the plates effect a changein tlieiposition of the" center of gravity of the descending pieces ofmaterial travelling downfthe runway,and'thereby give a lateral impetus to said liunpsf In a coal separator thread ill] feet on the material whereby the position of its center of gravity is changed by flow-V ing over the tangential edges, difiers from the effect produced by material flowing over jackets having radial edges. A lump of material falling over a tangential edge will tend to move in a direction normal to said edge and therefore it will turn or shift the location of its center of gravity and tend to move said lump outward when the plates are arranged as in Fig. 2 or inward as in Fig. 4. On the other hand when the edges overlap on a radial line there will be no lateral impetus given to the lumps when they pass over the seam as the radial edge is normal to the natural path of travel of the lumps.

While the spiral runway herein described is particularly adapted for use as a coal conveyor thread, or a coal separator thread, it is not to be interpreted that its use is restricted thereto as this construction could be applied to spiral runways used for various other purposes. And it is to be understood that the above specification and the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof are to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, as modifications may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A spiral runway comprising a multiplicity of jackets whose surfaces are warped to form uniform continuous spiral surfaces, said jackets being of acute triangular shape having converging edges, one of said edges being substantially tangent to a circle concentric with the axis of the spiral runway; V

2. A spiral runway including a central supporting post and a multiplicity of j acketseach having an edge which extends outwardly in a substantially tangential di rection from said post, and radially extending rods carried by the post for supporting said jackets the tangential edge of each jacket crossing at least two adjacent rods.

3. A runway including a central cylindrical supporting post having outwardly extending supporting rods and a multiplicity of identical jackets of acute triangular shape, supported by said rods, the jackets being shaped to form a true warped surface,said jackets being secured to said post so that one edge is tangent thereto and extends in an upward and outward direction, the adjacent portions of said jackets overlapping one another to form a continuous runwa having a constantly progressing warpe spiral surface so that the material can travel thereon at a substantially constant rate.

t. A spiral runway including a central supporting post and a multiplicity of jack ets shaped to form a true warped surface and being of acute triangular shape each having one edge substantially tangent to said supporting post and each jacket being formed with a flange on the tangent edge: -to fit the post, said runway having more than {our jackets per turn.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

; FRANK PAR-DEE. 

